


Rescue

by directium



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: But only marginally so, Not shipping - Freeform, Werewolves, Wolves, ankle injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-08-16 15:24:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8107666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/directium/pseuds/directium
Summary: Another one of Max's escape attempts fails and he finds himself stuck in the woods with an injured ankle. But maybe there's someone out there in the dark woods willing to help him out.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired after talking with my friend about werewolf AUs today and this just kind of came out of my fingertips, mostly during my lunchbreak.

To say Max's most recent escape attempt from Camp Campbell hadn't gone exactly to plan would be the understatement of the century. 

He had managed to make it about half a mile into the dark woods when his flashlight died. And no amount of smacking the side or switching around the batteries would make the damn thing turn on again. So, Max was forced to continue on with only the full moon to light his way.

Which wouldn't have been so bad if the moon knew how to do its job and warn him when there was an unstable ledge beneath his feet that would give way at the slightest pressure. But he was not so lucky.

He had survived (unfortunately, he would probably add) the roll down the side of the steep hill but the length of the fall had shattered his right ankle to the point where he could not stand. Not that it would have mattered whether or not his ankle had taken the fall without issue, he was now completely lost and unsure of where to go next.

So he was stuck until someone came along to help him (which would likely be morning at the earliest) or until he died. And while he knew a shattered ankle would probably not kill him right away, it would only grow worse without medical attention.

Max hissed in pain as he tried to get as comfortable as he could in the muddy soil and leaves without upsetting his ankle. He was tempted to injure it further just so he could pass out and not feel anything until someone (probably David) came looking for him but he didn't. He could only hear David's cries of protest and worry for him as he was carried back to camp. How worried he had been, how dangerous it was to walk around the forest at night—

Max's thoughts were interrupted by the loud howl of a wolf, and the realization that he wasn't alone out here began to rear its ugly head. Max wasn't sure which death would be worse: a slow death from the pain in his foot or a quick death from being ripped to shreds by some hungry predator.

A twig snapped nearby.

_Oh, speak of the fucking devil..._

Max froze as a grey wolf stepped out of the darkness from a nearby patch of trees. Then two more. Than two others after them. A whole pack, with their eyes locked on the ten-year-old boy with a busted foot. Max could only watch helplessly as the pack grew closer to him. He could practically read their minds before he even saw their bared teeth glistening in the moonlight. He was injured and alone and they had found an easy meal.

But before any of them got a chance to strike, a furry, red mass of fur landed on the ground in front of Max, having likely jumped from the ledge above. The creature appeared to be another wolf, though much larger than the wolves surrounding them, and its fur was a sharp red instead of a soft gray.

The creature had its back to Max and it began to growl while it paced back and forth in front of him, not taking its eyes off the pack. The wolves bared their teeth in response to the creatures's action of interrupting their dinner, but seemed to back away when the creature's growls turned to vicious snarls, the fur on its back bristled and upright and its teeth snapping in response to their threats. It was clear that the creature was not going to let them get anywhere close to Max.

After several minutes of a stand off, the pack seemed to give up on Max entirely and retreated back towards the direction they had come from. Once the last grey wolf was out of sight, the creature's anger seemed to fade and it finally turned to face Max.

It was _definitely_ some kind of wolf, though again, bigger than most. Its head and snout alone was almost as big as Max's entire body. And Max's fear of being eaten had only grown in size as the red wolf eyed him curiously. It had probably scared off the others so it could get a bigger portion. Max held his breath, not taking his gaze off the wolf as he waited for it to finally attack him.

That didn't happen.

Instead, the wolf stepped closer to him, its nose twitching as it sniffed him. Max could practically hear his heart pounding wildly in his chest out of fear and he was sure the wolf could hear it too. It was probably thinking about what kind of condiments tasted best with a lost little kid in the woods—

"Eew, what the f—"

The wolf was licking him. Not just licking him, but wagging its tail excitedly as if it were some house pet who's owner had just come home from school. In fact, everything about the wolf's movements screamed 'friendly puppy', a drastic change from its previously threatening behavior.

Max groaned, but didn't dare attempt to push it away. "Come on, knock it off! Aren't you going to eat me or something?!"

The wolf made a noise, likely one of excitement and nuzzled his face with its snout. Feeling less afraid, Max pushed it away this time. "No, stop it!"

The wolf made another noise, this time a sad whine, followed by the most gentle of tugs to Max's sweater sleeve as if the wolf wanted him to get up.

"Hey, knock it off!" Max ordered, moving his hands in a shooing motion in the hopes the dog would get the message before he gestured to his injured leg. "You're a dumbass animal, but I think you can recognize a broken ankle when you see one."

The words 'broken ankle' seemed to get the wolf's attention and it began to tug at his sleeve again.

"Oh, my God, you're like a dog version of David," Max muttered. "You never fucking listen and you annoy me. Alright, fine, what the fuck do you want? Do you want to play? Do you want me to pet you?"

The wolf pushed its head beneath Max's right arm and gently tapped it in an upwards motion. "What, do you want me to get up? Hey, idiot. I told you my ankle was fucked up."

It stared at him with the biggest, saddest-looking green eyes Max had ever see. Max shook his head. Why the fuck had he expected some dumbass wolf to understand what he was saying? "Alright, whatever, I'll try to stand up. Will that make you happy? Seeing me in pain?"

The wolf moved closer to him and knelt down, nudging his hand gently.

Getting the message, Max gripped the wolf's back as he pulled himself to his feet. The wolf remained still as it watched him, only leaning closer when he needed further support. Soon, Max was up on his good leg while the wolf helped him stay upright.

"There, you stupid wolf," he groaned. "I'm up and my ankle still hurts like hell. Now what else do you want me to do? A backflip?"

As if on cue, the wolf began to nudge him against with its snout. "Hey, hey, careful!" Max warned, turning his body so both his arms were draped over the wolf's back.

But the nuzzling did not stop, and the wolf even seemed to be gently pushing Max further onto its back, as if it were giving him directions on where it wanted him to go.

"Okay, I get the message," Max said. "Get on the weird ass wolf's back. Fine, why not? I'm probably either dreaming or dead anyway. Either those wolves killed me or I passed out because of my ankle. Either way, what the fuck could happen to me now?"

The wolf stayed still the entire time as Max got himself situated. "Alright, so I'm here now," Max said, gripping the wolf's soft fur. "Now what?"

The wolf turned to give him a gentle lick ("Why do dogs have to lick everything?") before it began to make its way up the side of the steep hill that Max had fallen down. Max clutched the wolf's fur for dear life, his little arms barely circling its neck, as they headed upwards. The wolf's steps were unbelievably smooth, almost as if it were deliberately trying to be careful for Max's sake.

It stopped when they reached the top and gave Max an assuring nuzzle. Max simply frowned, and looked down at the area they had just come from.

"Oh, you think I'm going to tell you 'good boy' or something like that?" he asked the wolf. "Think I'm going to praise you for saving my life? Well, guess what? I'm not. Now I have to go back to that stupid camp and deal with David. So thanks a lot for not putting me out of my misery or letting your buddies do what wolves are SUPPOSED to do with lost kids in the woods."

The wolf's ears lowered sadly and it began to walk forward, its footsteps just as gentle and easy as before. Max sighed and laid his head against the soft, red fur on the wolf's back. It was warm, no surprise there. Like some big furry rug that Cameron Campbell would probably have in front of his many fireplaces.

"So why didn't you eat me?" Max asked aloud, knowing very well the wolf couldn't answer him. "You fight off the other wolves, and then just save me. What kind of wolf are you?"

The wolf did stop walking upon hearing Max's questions, but only remained still for a moment before it continued on its way. Max fell silent as well, his face half-buried in the wolf's fur. It slowly began to occur to him that he hadn't slept at all that night. He had kept himself awake so he could sneak out when everyone else was asleep, and then his escape plan had failed. Again.

And the fact that he was now lying on what felt like a furry rug in front of a rich asshole's fireplace was definitely not helping him keep his eyes open. He barely noticed when the wolf stepped within the limits of the campground and he definitely didn't notice the light in the counselor's cabin switch on at the sound of claws scratching on the door.

\------------------

Sunlight pouring in through the infirmary window was what eventually woke Max several hours later. He groaned and attempted to pull himself up in a sitting position.

"Woah, easy now, Max. Don't hurt your ankle."

Max nearly jumped at the sound of someone else's voice, but relaxed (and cringed) when he realized David was seated in a chair beside his bed. 

"Careful," he continued to say as he helped Max sit up. "You were in pretty bad shape last night."

 _Last night..._ "How'd I get here?" Max asked.

"The infirmary?" David asked. "Gwen carried you here while I was out in the woods, looking for you."

"Looking for-" Max rubbed his eyes. "How did you even know I was gone?"

"I happen to check the tents every night around midnight," David said, waggling his finger. "And a certain camper's bunk happened to be very empty when I did."

"Jesus Fuck, don't you ever sleep?" Max said, crossing his arms. "Yeah, alright, give me a lecture on how running away is bad or whatever..."

David simply wrapped his arms around Max in a gentle hug. "I was really worried about you, Max. I thought you had gotten lost or hurt, or something worse!"

Max made a face at David's affection and tried to push him away. "Believe me, if I had any say in it, I would have been long gone from this place. But I tripped and hurt my ankle and some dumbass wolf dragged me back here—"

"Wolf?" David asked curiously, letting go of Max.

"You heard me," Max said. "I don't know, maybe I was in so much pain from my ankle, I began hallucinating. But this big, red wolf helped me and brought me back here."

"Sounds to me like you got some help from the Camp Campbell Werewolf," Gwen said from the doorway.

"The WHAT?!" Max asked in disbelief.

David let out a noise of excitement. "Oh, you've never heard of the Camp Campbell Werewolf? Well, honestly, I think the term 'werewolf' is a bit much, since he's really just a regular wolf who happens to be a little bigger than most of the packs that live around here—"

"—basically he's this giant, red wolf who patrols the forest around the camp," Gwen finished for him. "No one knows where he came from or who he is. He's usually only seen around a full moon, hence the 'werewolf' thing. But he's pretty chill. Helps out lost campers who can't find their way or brings little trouble-making runaways back to the camp so their counselors can deal with them."

"Oh, great, so it's like having another David around," Max griped. "I would have preferred an actual werewolf. At least then it would have torn me to shreds and I wouldn't have had to come back here."

"Well, at least he got you back before your injury could get any worse," David said. "You should be up on your feet again before you know it."

"Wait a minute," Max said. "Does this mean I won't have to participate in any camp activities until I'm better?"

David smiled. "Not to worry, Max! While you slept, I managed to come up with a list of activities you can do without having to get out of bed. You won't be missing out on any of the fun while your ankle is healing!"

Max groaned loudly and leaned back against his pillow. "Ugh, why didn't that wolf just eat me?" he whined.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, cry me a river, Red Riding Hood. Oh, David, speaking of eating, it's nearly time to wake the others for breakfast."

"Ooh, you're right!" David sprang up from his chair and onto his feet. "I'll be back before too long to check on you, Max. Would you like me to bring you anything for breakfast?"

"How about a bus ticket and a map to the city?"

"Very funny, Max," David said. "How about cereal?"

"Yeah, whatever," Max grumbled, rolling over so his back was to the counselors.

David smiled, stopping in the infirmary doorway as Gwen continued on towards the mess hall. "You're very lucky, Max," he said. "Not many people can say they've survived both a broken ankle and an encounter with a pack of hungry wolves in one night. If anything, I think you should write the Camp Campbell Werewolf a letter of appreciation."

Max scoffed. "Like that fucking wolf can read. Anyway, if I see it again, I'll probably punch it in the snout in the hopes that it'll get the right idea and actually bite my head off-"

Max froze mid-sentence and turned back to face David, but he had already hurried off after Gwen, leaving Max alone to stare at the empty doorway in shock.

He had mentioned the red wolf to both David and Gwen. 

But he hadn't said anything to either of them about the pack of grey wolves that had tried to attack him before the wolf, the wolf with fur as red as the hair atop David's head, had rescued him.


End file.
